The present invention relates to improvements in transfer printing on flocked fabrics.
Flocked fabrics are known to be made by adhering short fibers, typically nylon or polyester to a substrate using, conventionally, a clear adhesive. The fibers may be pre-dyed, known as fiber-dye, or in their natural state, in which they are a white, translucent color.
Transfer printing entails combining a paper having the dyestuffs for the fabric arrayed on it in a print pattern, placing the paper and fabric into intimate contact and exposing the paper and fabric to pressure and heat. The result is the sublimation of the disperse dye and its entry into the fibers of the fabric. It is conventional for transfer print papers to have the print arrayed over the entire extent of the paper, so that the pattern to be printed can be seen in reverse on the paper itself. Transfer printed fabrics, having been exposed to heat and pressure in the printing process typically have a flat and papery look and hand. This is often deemed undesirable, especially in a flocked fabric.
It is known to add pigment to an adhesive used in some flocked fabric manufacturing. In one case, the pigmented adhesive is used to bind flock on fabric which is subsequently printed using wet processing techniques to achieve deep rich colors. However wet processing involves very different considerations from transfer printing, which is a lower-cost, dry process. Tinted adhesives are also known for use with pre-dyed flock, to obtain an overall intensity of shade.
However, it has not been possible previously in printing the flocked fabrics with transfer printing to achieve deep, dark shades using conventional print papers. When this is attempted, there are problems of grin-through, crocking and inferior lightfastness. The fabric substrate can be seen between the fibers, interfering with the desired visual effect of the printed pattern. Efforts to add dyestuff to the print paper in order to achieve deeper shades have been unsuccessful because the dyestuff in such a heavy concentration is not fully absorbed into the fibers. As a result, the dyestuff can rub off, an undesirable and commercially unacceptable result. The rubbing off of the colors in this fashion is known as "crocking".
Accordingly, there is a need in the art for an improved method for transfer printing onto flocked fabrics to achieve deep, dark shades, and also a need for deep, darkly transfer printed flocked fabrics.